Improvement in the manufacture of brewer s pitch



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED MARTIN, OF WlLMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA.

IMPROVEMENTIN THE MANUFACTURE OF BREWERS PlTC H- Specification formingpart of Letters Patent No. I94J01, dated August 2 8, 1877 applicationfiled July 10, 1877.

To all whom "it may camera:

of crude turpentine is melted, and transferred Be it known that I,ALFRED MARTIN, of through a fine-wire sieve to another recepta-Wilmington, in the county of New Hanover and State of North Carolina,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Manufacture ofBrewers Pitch; and 1 do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full,clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable pthers skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

' This invention relates to the process of I manufacturing an improvedarticle of brewers pitch for the coating of the interior of kegs andbarrels.

The pitch manufactured by my process adheres to the wood with moretenacity than that in common use, enabling the brewer to use the samevessel almost indefinitely without a second application, while iteffectually prevents any contact between the liquor and the wood wherebythe flavor of the liquor would be impaired. The material of which thepitch is composed being completely deodorized by this process ofmanufacturing, it is divested of all taste and odor, and, therefore,will not of itself impart either taste or smell to the beer or liquor.

. I manufacture my pitch directly from crude turpentine, and substituteoil of rosin, obtained from the distillation of rosin, for the tallow orlard-oil commonly used. By the use of a condensing apparatus I obtainduringthe process such a quantity of spirits, acids, &c., as reduces thecost of production of the pitch to less than half of that pro duced bythe ordinary processes.

To enable others skilled in the art to manufacture pitch by my process,Lwill first describe the ordinary method, showing the quantities ofmaterials used and labor employed, and then specify my process.

To do this clearly I will take the production (thirty barrels of pitch)of one day in my own factory and compare it with the time, labor, andmaterial required to produce the same quantity by the ordinary method.

By the ordinary process a suflicient quantity of rosin for the daysworksay nine hundred and fifteen pounds-is melted in a large iron orcopper kettle. In a smaller kettle about two hundred and forty-twopounds cle, foruse at the proper time. About fortyoue pounds of tallowis then melted in the smaller kettle. When the rosin is melted, fiveempty barrels, the top heads having been removed, are placed on end nearthe large kettle, and the melted ingredients dipped from their severalreceptacles into the barrels in the following proportions, to wit: Onehundred and seventy-five pounds of rosin, forty-six pounds of .crudeturpentine, seven pounds of tallow, and two pounds of ocher to eachbarrel. To secure thorough mixing the compound must be stirredvigorously during the time of filling the barrels until it becomes toohard to stir. It is then left to cool and harden, which it does duringthe night, and the process is complete when the heads are replaced inthe barrels. There is a waste of eleven pounds of material to eachbarrel tilled. Five barrels make theproduct of' one days labor of twohands.

Byrmy process I produce thirty barrels of pitch in one day with thelabor of two hands.

I require eight thousand-eight hundred and seventy pounds of crudeturpentine, three hundred and ninety-two pounds of refined oil of rosin,forty pounds of Rochelle ocher, labor of two hands one day, one and ahalf cord of wood, and thirty pitch barrels.

By a partial evaporation and condensing of the crude turpentine I getone thousand five hundred and twenty-six pounds of spirits, acids, 860.,and from the residuum I obtain six thousand nine hundred pounds, netweight, of brewers pitch, eight hundred and seventysix pounds being lostby straining, waste, and evaporation.

Process, of manufacturing: I place the above-stated quantity of crudeturpentine in a large copper kettle, having a waste-gate on one side, ina line with the bottom, set over a brick furnace, with a condenserattachment. When the whole mass has been softened by the heat I draw offthrough the waste-gate about one thousand five hundred and eighty poundsof the contents of the kettle into a reservoir. The condenser is thenattached to the top of the kettle, closing it up and, after theapplication of additional heat, one thous- 1 feet long by three feetwide and one foot in depth, placed over a large wooden reservoir underthe waste-gate. At the same time the one thousand five hundred andeighty pounds of crude turpentine first drawn off is also passed intothe strainer. When the whole compound is drawn into the reservoir thestrainer is removed and the barrels filled through thebung-holes withoutremoving the heads. When the bungs are inserted the operation iscomplete. ing oif, runningthrough the strainer and into the barrels,mixes the compound more thoroughly than can possibly be done bystirring.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent- Theprocess of draw 1. The process of manutacturing brewers pitchdi'rectlyfrom crude turpentine, using oil of rosin instead of tallow or otheroils, by first melting the turpentine and drawing off a portion, andthen reducing the remainder by extracting spirits and acids beforeadding the oil: of rosin and ocher, and, when drawing oi? the mass intoa reservoir through a strainer,

adding thereto the portion of turpentine first drawn ofi, substantiallyas specified.

2. The composition of crude turpentine, oil of rosin, and Rochelleocher, in about the proportions specified, for the manufacture ofbrewers pitch, substantially as set forth.

3. In the manufacture of brewers pitch, the use of oil of rosin insteadof tallow or other grease, substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own: I afiix my'signaturein presence of two witnesses.

' ALFRED MARTIN.

Witnesses:

WM. A. MARTIN, WILLIAM M. HOWEY.

